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“Absolutely not. Tell me right now or I’m calling the police and filing a missing person’s report.”
“I told you. I’m fine.”
“The police won’t think you are when I’m done.”
At a loss for words, I stammer, “Well… I…”
Cullen kisses my cheek and then his strong fingers wrap around the phone, taking it from me. “Mrs. Davis? This is Cullen.”
“Oh my gosh!” Mom’s horrific scream echoes from the phone’s speakers. “Nardi, did you hire an impersonator? What is wrong with you? I’ve given you the utmost consideration, but this is extremely concerning behavior. You need counseling. Fire that actor and come home immediately!”
I take the phone back and put it on speaker. “Mom, it’s true. Cullen’s really back.”
Mom’s shocked silence rings out for so long that I worry she’s fallen.
“Mom? Mom!”
“Y-you can’t be serious. Cullen is alive?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Cullen clears his throat. “I’m sorry that I worried you.”
Mom’s voice trembles in a way that tells me she’s probably crying. “You didn’t worry me. I don’t care one way or another, but Nardi—she was losing her mind.” Mom sniffs. “Um… yes, well, come back tomorrow, Nardi. And Cullen!”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I have a lot of questions.”
“I’ll answer them all,” Cullen promises.
The next day, when we return to the house, he keeps that promise and doesn’t flinch at any of the questions mom throws at him.
Mom pardons him for his lies, after asking everything to her heart’s content.
A little later, Josiah returns from an afternoon with Micheal and Bailey—Sunny’s two sons.
The moment my brother sees Cullen, his eyes double in size and he sprints forward yelling, “I knew it!”
A broad, joyous smile spreads on Cullen’s face. He braces himself as my brother collides with him, hugging him tight.
“I knew it! I knew it!” Josiah bounces up and down, grinning at Cullen. “I knew it was you in the PLP.”
“I was at the demo too,” Cullen admits. And then he does a ‘sh’ gesture, indicating that it’s a secret.
The two talk shop for a minute while my mother tugs me into the kitchen.
“So,” mom rubs her hands against her sides, “what happens now? Is he moving in to the house? Is he taking over Cullen Tech again? What about everyone who thought he was dead? There was even an article published about it.”
I remember. That touching piece on Cullen’s contributions to technology had laid me out crying for a good week.
“Cullen doesn’t mind a few people knowing the truth,” I whisper. “We planned on inviting Sunny, Darrel, Dare, and the core Cullen Tech team over and telling them all at once.”
Mom blows out a breath. “That oughta be fun.”
‘Fun’ isn’t the word I’d use to describe the shock, horror, confusion and joy that crosses the faces of our friends when Cullen walks out to greet them as they arrive.
I’m pretty sure I see Darrel holding back tears.
Sunny immediately goes in for a hug.